Volunteers Give Back This Thanksgiving

Tools

If you like pies, punch, and a clean plate, you would have loved Thanksgiving at the Carthage Elks Lodge.

Volunteers began preparing this Thanksgiving feast at 6 o'clock the night before.

"I couldn't have had a better dinner if we cooked it at home," said Bucky O'Connor about the meal he enjoyed at the Elks Lodge.

Its the fourth year for this event. Once again, the local Elks Lodge and Lions Club have teamed up to make sure nobody has to go without a warm thanksgiving meal.

"It's open to anyone and everyone. I mean there's no qualification to get in; there's nothing at the door, so to speak. I don't care who you are or where you're coming from," said Carthage Elks Lodge Vice President Adam Fuller.

People were able to sit down together and enjoy the free meal, offered in two separate sittings on site..

But for those who couldn't make it, volunteers made home deliveries.

"It feels good. It saves the trouble of having to walk up to the kitchen and make it," said Austin Molnar, who had his Thanksgiving meal delivered to his house.

Volunteers delivered to a lot of seniors this Thanksgiving. But they also took meals to anyone from the Carthage area that asked for a hot plate of food. In all, there were more than 50 orders.

The volunteers say they're just thankful for the chance to be giving this holiday.

That holiday spirit was also alive and well at the Salvation Army in Watertown. More than 150 volunteers took time this Thanksgiving to give back.

Those volunteers were cooking and serving a Thanksgiving day feast, fit with all of the fixings. That includes, of course, some pumpkin pie for dessert.

Volunteers we spoke to say giving a little bit of your time can go a long way for people in need:

"Just helping gives you a good feeling inside to begin with. Just knowing that you're doing something for someone else, especially this time of year, is just overwhelming," said Salvation Army volunteer Erica Bobbitt.

"It's absolutely an amazing feeling that you get," she said.

If you would like to volunteer, call the Salvation Army at (315)782-4470.